Department of Crop Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Uyo, P.M.B. 1017, Uyo, Nigeria.

*Corresponding Author E-mail: imeudo@yahoo.com

Accepted 28 October, 2015

Laboratory studies were conducted at the Pathology laboratory, University of Uyo, Nigeria to evaluate the insecticidal properties of Dennetia tripetala leaf powder against the maize weevil, Sitophilus zeamais Mots. 100g of maize was treated with the leaf powder as a direct admixture at 0, 5 and 10% level to test for mortality, progeny development and damage assessment. Each treatment level was replicated four times and laid out in a complete randomized design. Analysis was done using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and means compared using LSD (P<0.05). Results obtained showed significant weevil mortality after 96 hours of exposure to treatment compared with the untreated control. Significant protection of grains was achieved while progeny emergence was significantly reduced at the 10% treatment level (333.4) compared with the control (602.20). The study revealed that the candidate botanical possessed insecticidal, ovicidal and repellent actions against the pest and such could be used effectively in the management of S. zeamais in post- harvest systems, especially among the poor resource farmers in developing countries.

Keywords: Dennetia, maize weevil, mortality, repellent, grains, post-harvest system Introduction

How To Cite This Article:

Udo, I. O. Laboratory evaluation of pepper fruit (Dennetia tripetala) against maize weevil (Sitophilus zeamais) on stored maize grains. Swift Journal of Agricultural Research 1(6), pp. 067-069.